Monday, November 22, 2010

I'm excited for Thanksgiving this year...
and I have much to be thankful for.
We spent the weekend doing a year's worth of yard work...
we watched movies (the Usual Suspects, Lord of The Rings)...
we did not ride our bikes.
It's been a week off the bike, in fact...
Between Phelps & now, I had a few days on the couch recovering from a minor procedure...
I watched American Beauty (Kevin Spacey week here?)...
I ate Gummi Bears & grilled cheese...
I ran with the dog...
I gave myself severe respiratory distress following a minor catastrophe in the (not well-ventilated) basement involving shoddy plumbing & a gallon of bleach.
I started Christmas shopping!
I ended my stint at the shop...
it wasn't what it was supposed to be.
I am moving on...(again) & pretty certain I won't be back this time.
I spent my last day there decorating the windows with paper snowflakes & Christmas lights.
I drank a beer with Chris, the mechanic.
I thought about the holidays.
I thought about New Years Eve...and party dresses & champagne & all that good stuff.
I started planning my son's birthday party...he's going to be six.
I thought about having more kids.
I thought about one & done.
I haven't been sleeping well and I almost asked my doctor about Ambien (which I swore I'd never use again)...
instead, I kept mum about the sleeplessness & walked away with a prescription for an inhaler and some roids (5 days worth).
I should have known it was a bad idea to scrub the concrete floor with undiluted bleach, with one tiny window propped open.
The sleeplessness has nothing to do with the reactive airway blah blah blah...the sleeplessness comes with daylight savings.
Always.
I've been having terrifying dreams...I fall asleep just fine, wake up in the middle of the night (usually from a nightmare or an episode of sleep paralysis), and that's it...
I'm up for hours.
My best sleep is in the morning, after the dog gets up...
for a couple hours.
I don't want to go through the sleep study thing...I don't want to go to the sleep docs at Jefferson again.
I just want to sleep through the night on a fairly regular basis.
(okay, Santa? Hear me?)
I've been thinking about mountain bike racing again.
Like maybe getting ready for it,
like paying closer attention to what I do over the winter...
I found my ice helmet.
I don't know if I want to do that anymore.

Friday, November 12, 2010

I think I need to do one more cross race this weekend...
I hope my kid can be there because last year it was pretty awesome to have him run beside me behind the tape on the run-up lap after lap.
"Go, Kimmy! Come on, Mom!"
I'm starting a new job in two weeks.
Turns out I really miss working on other people's teeth...
I really need to catch up with my cousin.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

I stole a (cooked) sweet potato from my mom's fridge...
Usually, I don't cook a real dinner for myself on Wednesday nights...
The sweet potato inspired me & I made this for myself:
Cooked pasta (I used barilla spagetti, yellow box)
1 cooked sweet potato, diced (skin off...I don't do sweet potato skin, do you?)
1 small handful toasted pine nuts
1 generous handful of arugula
Browned the sweet potato in a pan with olive oil, salt, pepper, and a little cinnamon while the pasta cooked...
The pasta had a couple minutes to go, so I threw the pine nuts & arugula in the pan and gave it another little hit of olive oil...
Tossed it all together, added a little fresh grated pecorino & a touch of crunchy pink salt.
Even my son, was like, "Ooooh, what's that?"
"It's freaking yummy. Care to try it?"
"It looks yummy."
"Care to try it?"
"No thanks."
(We are down to completely plain pasta, waffles, edamame, pizza, grilled cheese, mac n cheese, and maybe some permutation of a chicken nugget...but only mine or Bell & Evans...ridiculous)
Feeding my almost 6 year-old is a challenge...
I usually prepare a staple or standby that I know he'll eat & encourage him to at least try whatever else we're having.
I don't want to battle or bargain or negotiate...I don't want to force or bribe or sneak stuff in.
This is how I do it, this is what works for now.
Almost 6.
I got some awesome news today & I will elaborate as soon as it's official.
(no, I am not preggers...puh-leazzzze)

Thursday, November 4, 2010

"Just have fun with it..."
Yeah, but I'm not.
My short-lived 2010 cross season is over.
2011 will see me better prepared & more enthusiastic.
Focused.
Into it.
Having fun.
(okay, receiving the Stormtrooper skinsuit was pretty freaking outrageously fun)
Until then...
job search.
mountain bike.
kindergarten.
puppy.
all the other stuff that happens when I'm not packing a race bag or panicking about tire pressure or combing through confirmed riders or practicing every Wednesday or losing sleep over the dreaded last row...
So, if it looks like I am giving up...I kind of am.
For now.
Because I want to belong there and next year I will.